Good article on how watered down TUF is becoming and into the future if the downward talent pool trend continues, TUF won't survive.

I tend to agree with it.

let me know your thoughts.

bjj1605

12/11/08 1:26:53PM

I completely disagree. The mere fact that he was able to name so many mainstay fighters proves that. Not all of them are super stars, yet, but look how long it took Forrest Griffin to win the belt. You've gotta give these guys a chance. Many of them are solid fighters who have a good chance of being future super stars. Mac Danzig and Nick Diaz look very promising. I think Nover or Vinny could become superstars down the road too. If the wrestlers win.... well thats another story. We have enough boring wrestlers who always seem to fail against top flight competition.

wiggum

12/11/08 1:30:48PM

i dont agree with the article for the most part.....tuf 8 finale will not be pivotal...it still is a very watched show and does seem to be losing enough steam to be considered in trouble......hardly any show when its "the first of its kind" regains the steam of theyre first season....plus, only time will tell the talent that has come out in the recent seasons....i agree with season 3 being shotty.....that whole season was built around tito and ken, not about talent.....4 was four, and from a hardcore fan standpoint, i thought it was a good season.....its too early to gauge all the seasons since 4 on a talent level tho.....the thing people keep forgetting and i have to keep reminding them is that season 1 was the first, all the non-name talent worth having, in a sport were opportunities (espcially on the business side of things) were slim to none, was gathered onto one show.....they were up and comers that blossomed into stars and now we are 3 years later....3 years is a lot of time to develop as a fighter....try to imagine were seasons 5-8 will be 3 years from now...amir had 4 amutur fights coming in and was a very good sambo and muay thai practictioner, so its not like he was a noobe, him wining wasnt a fluke if you get past the 0-0 pro record.....also, with gathering talent, its not the same as it used to be...there are a lot of different ways to make money and expose yourself to the masses than there was in 2005, so a lot of fighters pass on making the show......back in 05, there was pretty much only one option when you are an american mma fighter, the ufc.....what im saying is give it time to see were the talent that has been on the show goes, cuz in 05 nobody thought griffin would be champ, evans, stevenson, quarry and florian would be vieing for titles

finnish_line

12/11/08 1:35:32PM

This season's talent pool was great. TUF 7's was suspect.

dannyfrank

12/11/08 1:39:02PM

even if they do well, i think this needs to be the last season of TUF. the next season with the whole "USA v. UK" thing is just going to make it turn even more into another stereotypical reality show. Im predicting TUF 9 to be the worst season of the show so far.

The-Don

12/11/08 2:50:24PM

One thing that would help while the fighters appear decent and as stated above.. You need to give the guys time to grow as a fighter most of these guys are still young. What the UFC needs to do is focus on getting fighters on the show and not characters... Most fighters are pretty off the wall people anyway in alot of cases.. I think the show would be alot better if it focused more on teh training nad such as opposed to the stuff that happens in the house it would be nice to see how guys like Nog and Mir and the other coaches they had in the past really train not this almost half assed stuff they manage to squeeze in 2 minutes of. Would the show be as entertaining to the masses? Maybe not.. but you'd have ebtter fighters coming out of it.. you'd have better up and comers wanting on teh show for a chance to train with big names and get the UFC contract and over all the UFC would win cause they would grow thier talent pool with better young fighters.

Twenty20Dollars

12/11/08 3:00:35PM

All shows eventually have to end.

ncordless

12/11/08 3:02:13PM

The author's argument about there being a decline is negated by this season. There are several fighters from this season that could become very good. Seasons 6 and 7 were definitely weak and I thought that this might be a sign of a trend in the show. This season has proved that wrong.

BTW... yeah we know the fighters from seasons 1, 2, 3, and 5 now but none of them were big names before the show.

JimmieDD

12/11/08 4:32:05PM

Posted by ncordless

The author's argument about there being a decline is negated by this season. There are several fighters from this season that could become very good. Seasons 6 and 7 were definitely weak and I thought that this might be a sign of a trend in the show. This season has proved that wrong.

BTW... yeah we know the fighters from seasons 1, 2, 3, and 5 now but none of them were big names before the show.

Disagree.. The guys from Season 1 and 2 had a lot more fights and were way more prepared that the current group.

And the talent in this season hasn't been proven yet. They have all fought each other.

We need to wait until they are actually in (or in some cases out) of the UFC until we know for sure.

Wolfenstein

12/11/08 4:49:39PM

Certainly this season created a small spike in the decline. Nover, Bader, Shane Nelson, Junie Browning,Vinny, and Ephrain could be potential mainstays.

Even season 7 might produce a few more quality fighters than previously expected. Amir, CB, Matt Brown, and Tim Credeur have a future. CB uis a talented fighter and was taken out twice by Amir. I don't think that is so a reflection of mediocre talent as it is that Amir (while raw and unproven) is a very talented prospect that not enough people have given credit.

ncordless

12/11/08 5:11:17PM

Posted by JimmieDD

Posted by ncordless

The author's argument about there being a decline is negated by this season. There are several fighters from this season that could become very good. Seasons 6 and 7 were definitely weak and I thought that this might be a sign of a trend in the show. This season has proved that wrong.

BTW... yeah we know the fighters from seasons 1, 2, 3, and 5 now but none of them were big names before the show.

Disagree.. The guys from Season 1 and 2 had a lot more fights and were way more prepared that the current group.

And the talent in this season hasn't been proven yet. They have all fought each other.

We need to wait until they are actually in (or in some cases out) of the UFC until we know for sure.

No... you can make an accurate assessment about a fighter by watching him/her fight. I have watched the TUF fights as well as every other fight I can find with each of these fighters and can say with confidence that this crop of fighters (especially the top half of each class) is as good as any. They are greener than the fighters in season 1 and 2. However, the first two seasons were filled with fighters who had toiled for several years in obscurity due to a lack of media coverage at the time. Times have have changed, and there is not the same experience level among the top fighters in the regional shows.

Time will tell who is right I guess...

JimmieDD

12/11/08 8:04:28PM

Posted by ncordless

Posted by JimmieDD

Posted by ncordless

The author's argument about there being a decline is negated by this season. There are several fighters from this season that could become very good. Seasons 6 and 7 were definitely weak and I thought that this might be a sign of a trend in the show. This season has proved that wrong.

BTW... yeah we know the fighters from seasons 1, 2, 3, and 5 now but none of them were big names before the show.

Disagree.. The guys from Season 1 and 2 had a lot more fights and were way more prepared that the current group.

And the talent in this season hasn't been proven yet. They have all fought each other.

We need to wait until they are actually in (or in some cases out) of the UFC until we know for sure.

No... you can make an accurate assessment about a fighter by watching him/her fight. I have watched the TUF fights as well as every other fight I can find with each of these fighters and can say with confidence that this crop of fighters (especially the top half of each class) is as good as any. They are greener than the fighters in season 1 and 2. However, the first two seasons were filled with fighters who had toiled for several years in obscurity due to a lack of media coverage at the time. Times have have changed, and there is not the same experience level among the top fighters in the regional shows.

Time will tell who is right I guess...

Fair enough.. we'll have to see..

I actually think this season's talent was good too, but the 2 before were crap..